也許大家都知道食物過敏會引致很多疾病，但吸入物的致敏原就被很多人忽略。我見過很多病人日常很著重避免進食容易致敏的食材，但對大氣中的種種呼吸物，人們每每會把它們忽略或輕視了。很多人以為只有鼻敏感或氣管敏感者如哮喘病患等人，才需要注意其所呼吸的空氣質素跟其本身疾病的關係。事實正好相反，一般常見的敏感患者如皮膚過敏症、濕疹、關節炎等病患，也可能跟天天呼吸的空氣有關。

很多讀者會問，香港的空氣質素差早已不是新聞了，難道要移民或天天戴著防毒面具去生活嗎？坦白說我認為若你或你的家人患有極嚴重的呼吸系統過敏病，移民往空氣潔淨的地方生活肯定對健康有莫大裨益；但若你很愛香港離不開這裡，而又可堅持不怕被奇異眼光看待的話，時刻戴著防毒面具或過濾能力佳的口罩生活，你也一定會活得健康些。

不過，除了以上這二個略為極端的辦法外，事實上我們還可以採用一些較簡單及溫和的方法去幫助過敏症患者的。排除了食物因素，其實鼻子無時無刻吸進我們身體的物質也是致敏原的主要來源，患者在醫治本身疾患的同時，很應該去找出身體到底對那些吸入物質具有過敏反應，然後盡量避開或減少接觸它們，這樣才能夠較徹底的醫治其疾患。

我的病人及讀者相信會很熟悉我對敏感症的看法，「就是醫人不醫病」──要安撫身體，不是控制病情；正本清源，減少致敏因素的影響。我也認同無論是中醫或西醫也不能把濕疹和鼻敏感徹底醫「斷尾」的，把身體的狀況調養好，加上減少接觸致敏源必能有效地令到疾患被妥善「管理」；不惡化、無症狀、病情發作時一治就好，便是治好病了，管他是否符合醫學上的「斷尾」定義。




用藥物去「控制」疾病只是暫時性的舒緩症狀，沒有把身體醫好，不將致病的成因去除，「病」根本就不會好，病情一時的好轉，只藥物的作用，一旦停藥物，病情馬上惡化或復舊，例如：濕疹患者的皮膚立刻變差；鼻敏感者的鼻水又再長流等。如非必要，人也不想長期用藥。無論外塗或內服，藥用多了總會有些副作用。找出過敏性疾病的根本成因，便可對症下藥，把病徹底醫治，更勝治標不治本的治療。

When treating allergies, I have seen patients putting their emphasis on avoiding allergic foods, but people tend to neglect the impact of inhalant antigens, or assume the aeroallergens or poor air quality can only affect those suffering from respiratory discomforts like allergic rhinitis and asthma.

It is nothing new to talk about the poor air quality in Hong Kong. The patients, who are suffering from common allergic symptoms like rashes, eczema, arthritis, etc, seldom connect their recurrent symptoms to the air they breathe everyday. Besides taking some extreme methods like immigrating to countries with cleaner air and wearing facial mask in daily life, we can still apply some simpler and milder ways to help the allergy patients. Eliminating food factors, inhalation of materials from our noses is also one of the primary sources of antigens. At the same moment of curing the symptoms, patients shall find out the allergic inhalants and then avoid them. The disease can then be tackled thoroughly in this way.

I believe my patients and readers are very familiar with my view to allergies that is ‘to cure the patients but not the disease itself; to pacify the body but not control the disease; to strengthen the body from inside and eliminate the sources so as to reduce the influences of allergic factors’. I also agree that both TCM and modern western medicine doctors are not able to completely cure eczema and rhinitis. Improving the health status of your body and reducing possible contact with allergens can effectively manage your allergies. No worsening and appearance of symptoms together with cure them once they appear can be classified into successfully curing the allergy, although it may not fit the definition of a complete cure.

The ‘control’ of disease by drugs can only temporarily suppress the symptoms. This does not cure the body. Without eliminating the ‘pathogenic factors’, the allergies will not be improved. Once you stop taking the drugs, the symptoms will immediately come back, for example, the skins of eczema patients will become no longer intact; rhinitis patients will get their running noses again, etc. If it is not necessary, it is not a good practice to take medicine in long term. No matter the drugs are eaten or smeared on the skin, long-term usage of drugs may still have some side effects. Finding out the fundamental causes of allergy via inhalant or food allergy tests can then combat the disease thoroughly and must be better than the treatment by using drugs alone.



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